Hello AZ, I recently reviewed one of the Sneakiest Sneaky Pete's being sold by forum Member poolfool1957. The cue I tested was King Wood and Rick was a totally great guy to deal with during my review, before and after.
In the Beginning I told Rick that I was not really concerned with the type of shaft that the cue came with. Although, they do offer, Predator 2nd Generation 314, Z-shafts also from Predator, Ob-1 shafts and the full assortment of McDermott I-shafts. The following are the specifications of the cue I received for the review.
Type of Wood: The cue was a very nicely figured piece of King spliced into a Maple front.
Shaft The cues shaft was a low deflection McDermott I-shaft.
Weight The weighed 18.3 oz, without a weight bolt installed.
Length The cues Length was 57.75 inch from the top of the ferrule to the bottom of the butt cap.
Pin / Shaft Insert The cues pin was a G-10 Epoxy Pin that fit into either a Phenolic or thermostatic plastic insert into the shaft.
Finish I am unsure what type of finish was used on this cue, however, it was very nicely polished and wave free.
My back ground is a little different than many posters while giving a review of a cue. First, I build conversion cues myself, along with doing a great deal of cue repair, so while interjecting my opinion of the cues finish and other anesthetics, I may be a little more critical than others.
Well, I was pretty impressed with the cue overall, however, it was a little short for me personally, but this is due to my preference of a 59 to a 59.5 cue. While the cue was in the weight range that I prefer, the cue was a little butt heavy in my opinion. Now this could be due to the choice of shafts, especially since laminated shafts that are smaller diameter will cause the problem described above. In addition depending upon the type of hardwood used in the cues butt and the customer weight required coring with a lighter hardwood from the rear may be necessary to balance some models offered. However, even with this the cue was very playable and responsive to my stroke.
Another area that could stand a small amount of improvement was the mating surfaces of the cues joint. Now I am not saying that the joint did not meet flush, because it basically did however there was a little more gap than I like personally. But, on a positive note when the cue was screwed together, it fit nice and snug. Which is due to the combination of the Radial style pin and the shaft insert, which I liked very much, in addition this combination also gave the cue a good transmission of hit.
The cues appearance looked very good when examined up close, with the exception of what I outlined about the joint. This was mainly do to a good finish job by the cue maker, that was scratch free and without ripples or bumps, this was very impressive for a cue in this price range, along with the other materials outlined above.
The cues playability was good to very good depending on the type stroke being used. I had no problem putting spin on the cue and executing any shot once I adjusted to the non-deflection shaft, which I normally do not use. After a short time I was able to adjust to the cue with no problem and I could perform normally with little difficulty. I also believe that most anyone using one of these cues would be happy with it's performance.
In the end I think this is a good cue for the money, and I also think with the considerations I outlined above they will also make great players for some one who doesn't have a great deal of money to spend. I hope this helps others when considering one of these cues for a player. I also think that many of the problems outlined can be corrected very easily and will not really cause much if any difficulty with the cues performance.
Take Care, and have a good night!!!!
In the Beginning I told Rick that I was not really concerned with the type of shaft that the cue came with. Although, they do offer, Predator 2nd Generation 314, Z-shafts also from Predator, Ob-1 shafts and the full assortment of McDermott I-shafts. The following are the specifications of the cue I received for the review.
Type of Wood: The cue was a very nicely figured piece of King spliced into a Maple front.
Shaft The cues shaft was a low deflection McDermott I-shaft.
Weight The weighed 18.3 oz, without a weight bolt installed.
Length The cues Length was 57.75 inch from the top of the ferrule to the bottom of the butt cap.
Pin / Shaft Insert The cues pin was a G-10 Epoxy Pin that fit into either a Phenolic or thermostatic plastic insert into the shaft.
Finish I am unsure what type of finish was used on this cue, however, it was very nicely polished and wave free.
My back ground is a little different than many posters while giving a review of a cue. First, I build conversion cues myself, along with doing a great deal of cue repair, so while interjecting my opinion of the cues finish and other anesthetics, I may be a little more critical than others.
Well, I was pretty impressed with the cue overall, however, it was a little short for me personally, but this is due to my preference of a 59 to a 59.5 cue. While the cue was in the weight range that I prefer, the cue was a little butt heavy in my opinion. Now this could be due to the choice of shafts, especially since laminated shafts that are smaller diameter will cause the problem described above. In addition depending upon the type of hardwood used in the cues butt and the customer weight required coring with a lighter hardwood from the rear may be necessary to balance some models offered. However, even with this the cue was very playable and responsive to my stroke.
Another area that could stand a small amount of improvement was the mating surfaces of the cues joint. Now I am not saying that the joint did not meet flush, because it basically did however there was a little more gap than I like personally. But, on a positive note when the cue was screwed together, it fit nice and snug. Which is due to the combination of the Radial style pin and the shaft insert, which I liked very much, in addition this combination also gave the cue a good transmission of hit.
The cues appearance looked very good when examined up close, with the exception of what I outlined about the joint. This was mainly do to a good finish job by the cue maker, that was scratch free and without ripples or bumps, this was very impressive for a cue in this price range, along with the other materials outlined above.
The cues playability was good to very good depending on the type stroke being used. I had no problem putting spin on the cue and executing any shot once I adjusted to the non-deflection shaft, which I normally do not use. After a short time I was able to adjust to the cue with no problem and I could perform normally with little difficulty. I also believe that most anyone using one of these cues would be happy with it's performance.
In the end I think this is a good cue for the money, and I also think with the considerations I outlined above they will also make great players for some one who doesn't have a great deal of money to spend. I hope this helps others when considering one of these cues for a player. I also think that many of the problems outlined can be corrected very easily and will not really cause much if any difficulty with the cues performance.
Take Care, and have a good night!!!!
